Blog Redesign: from LetteringLaine.com to SunshineDays.blog

This might be your first visit to my site, so welcome to you! I’m glad you’re here - stay awhile! If you’ve been here before, welcome to the new site!

We’ve been thinking about refreshing my old website for a while, but we’ve been busy. It got pushed off until we had more time & space in our brains to do anything with it. By the time we got back to it, a complete overhaul & rebrand was needed.

Today, I’m sharing some of my thoughts behind this change. I’m excited about heading in a new direction, but I’m also nervously putting myself out there more. And that’s completely against my introverted nature.

Why the redesign?

If you know me, you might know that I’ve been hand lettering for a few years off & on. I started to blog on my old website (& those old posts are getting fresh graphics & brought over here with us at SUNSHINE DAYS). But between babies & homeschooling & life in general, that blog (& the whole site) got put on the back burner.

I’ve been itching to be creative again, so I started lettering here & there. I’ve also been journaling more (a practice I used to do a lot of as an angsty teenager but am enjoying more as a less-angsty adult). But I still wanted a better way to connect with a broader community of women like me who needed encouragement & community. So, SUNSHINE DAYS was born as a way for me to be creative & build up others.

I still love to letter & you can see some of those pieces over in my shop. Lettering will definitely come up in some posts here & there ( I’m actually working on one for the near future). I’m just broadening my focus onto more topics that mean a lot to me. And by opening up my blog niche, I hope to reach more people with light & hope & SUNSHINE! 

I also happen to be married to a programmer, so that helps on the whole technical side of things! He’s been super supportive & helpful as we’ve built this site together. Well, he’s done all of the hard work. But, you know, I definitely added my two-cents every now & then.

Why SUNSHINE DAYS?

When I was a baby, my parents would sing “You Are My Sunshine” to calm me down or help me sleep. Not to brag, but apparently I was a very easygoing baby, so I’m guessing the song wasn’t needed too often. But I’m not bragging on my babyhood or anything like that.

I was about 2 years old when I first met my maternal grandmother, and one of the the first things she said to me as I toddled up to her was, “Hello, Sunshine!” And she called me that until the last time I spoke with her. We often called her Grandma Sunshine because of her perpetually sunny smile & spirit despite the difficulties she faced throughout her life.

So, when I was trying to think of a name for my newly-redesigned blog, I struggled! 

Then, I landed on this old nickname. It evoked memories of good days & lots of love. There were lots of cloudy, stormy days, but when I choose to look back with positivity, I see lots of blue skies & so much SUNSHINE.

Now, I can’t wait to share SUNSHINE DAYS with you & learn what SUNSHINE DAYS look like to you!

What is this new blog all about?

Not every day is full of SUNSHINE. Those cloudy, stormy, gloomy days? Yeah, they are awful. But, I look back & see how God was there through it all. I see my sister & I leaning on each other when we didn’t know where to turn. I see my brother having positive role models who stepped in to encourage him. I see the sudden, tragic death of my husband’s good friend become a time of maturing for our faith. I see God’s light in it all, & He helps me see the SUNSHINE above the clouds. And it’s beautiful & peaceful up there. I don’t always know the “why” behind the storm, but I am confident that God has been at work for my good. And that brings the SUNSHINE.

My goal is to bring encouragement & hope & a little fun to your day no matter your path in life. I hope this blog helps you find the SUNSHINE DAYS in it all. 

I hope we get to know each other & build a community of women who cheer each other on.

I look forward to bringing the stories of other women from a variety of walks of life to encourage you!

I want to share my favorite things, my lessons & failures & successes. I’m not usually a very open person, but I think that God is opening my heart to this opportunity to be vulnerable & honest & real. I think our world needs more of that, so I should start with myself, right?

If you’ve read this far, thank you! I know I just spilled my guts out & I appreciate your humoring me. So, take a look around at the new site - it’s still got a few things we want to add, but it’s a start. Tell me what you think down in the comments!

Cheering you on!